Woman accused in violent abduction pleads guilty
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IDAHO FALLS – A woman arrested for her alleged involvement in a violent 2020 kidnapping has changed her plea to guilty.
Tabatha McKnight, 39, was originally charged with felony grand theft, felony first-degree kidnapping, felony aggravated battery, misdemeanor assault, and misdemeanor battery in March 2020.
In amended charging documents, McKnight was later charged with felony burglary, felony intimidation of a witness, felony accessory in harboring a felon, misdemeanor attempt to commit violent injury and misdemeanor battery.
McKnight pleaded guilty to the felony charges on Monday in return for the misdemeanor charges being removed and the prosecution recommending a three-year fixed sentence, according to the plea agreement.
Maddeline Ovard, 31, was another woman arrested in connection to the kidnapping. She pleaded guilty to felony second-degree kidnapping, felony grand theft, felony aggravated battery, felony aggravated assault, and misdemeanor battery in June 2021, as part of a plea agreement.
Ovard was sentenced to 3 to 23 years in prison by Judge Dane Watkins.
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On March 25, 2021, Idaho Falls Police found a woman at Wolverine Canyon in Bingham County following a reported abduction.
The woman, who suffered severe injuries, pointed police to Ovard and McKnight.
The victim told investigators that around 8 p.m. the night before, Ovard, McKnight and another woman attacked her while wearing masks at a home on Burlwood Drive, according to court documents.
Ovard allegedly used a socket wrench and brass knuckles to repeatedly hit the woman before taking $400 in cash, keys and a cellphone.
A friend of the victim witnessed part of the alleged attack before the masked women shoved the victim into her own 2007 White Ford Explorer.
With a blindfold on, the attackers drove the victim to an unknown location where they continued to beat her with brass knuckles, according to a police report.
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Police say the attack lasted a couple of hours and the victim said Ovard threatened to slit her throat while McKnight threatened to shoot her.
While the victim did not see the weapons, she knew the women had access to them.
Around 9:30 p.m., a friend of the victim received Facebook messages from her bound with her head covered. In the video, the victim reportedly argued with McKnight about sleeping with a man. The friend called police to report the messages.
At some point, the attackers stopped and loaded the victim into another car before driving her to the canyon in Bingham County. Ovard and McKnight then allegedly had the victim strip and sit on a rock until they left.
The victim suffered a skull fracture and a potential brain bleed but refused treatment, according to police.
McKnight is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Watkins on Jan. 9.